Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota

Average Customer Rating:	4.0
Release Date:	2001-04-30
Publisher:	Scribner
Author	Chuck Klosterman
Number of pages:	288
ISBN:	1616883588
Format:	Bargain Price
Language:	Published: English;

Product Categories

Authors; Family & Childhood; Memoirs; Journalists; Paperback; Bargain Books; Printed Books; Music

Product description

Empirically proving that -- no matter where you are -- kids wanna rock, this is Chuck Klosterman's hilrious memoir of growing up as a shameless metalhead in Wyndmere, North Dakotoa (population: 498). With a voice like Ace Frehley's guitar, Klosterman hacks his way through hair-band history, beginning with that fateful day in 1983 when his older brother brought home Mötley Crüe's Shout at the Devil. The fifth-grade Chuck wasn't quite ready to rock -- his hair was too short and his farm was too quiet -- but he still found a way to bang his nappy little head. Before the journey was over, he would slow-dance to Poison, sleep innocently beneath satanic pentagrams, lust for Lita Ford, and get ridiculously intellectual about Guns N' Roses. C'mon and feel his noize.

Customer reviews

« A Charming Little Book About Growing Up and Loving Music »

I share five basic traits with Chuck Klosterman.
We were both born in the same year, we both grew up in somewhat culturally isolated communities, we both love 80s hair metal, Mötley Crüe's Shout at the Devil was the record that had the biggest impact on our early teenage lives and finally, we can both karaoke Guns 'n Roses' Apetite for Destruction from start to finish. There are still some differences in our journeys from childhood to maturity, but those are mere details. I spent my teen years baking on a tropical Latin American shithole instead of freezing on a Midwestern wasteland and I had access to MTV as early as in 1982. Instead of becoming an indie rock loving hipster during College like the author I kept my metal faith in the early 90s, Nevermind notwithstanding, and moved on to extreme metal as the decade progressed, but in the end, it doesn't matter, since we both still rock to the same aquanet friendly songs when drunk.
You might say that because my teenage music related experiences are pretty similar to Chuck's I'm bound, even obligated to love this book and that is a very valid point, but that doesn't mean anyone can enjoy it, since it's very entertaining and written with an unassuming, funny and down to earth style. Since the story of a nerdy teenager using rock music as a means to escape his boring, drab day to day life and overcome his own lameness can be the story of countless people everywhere, this book transcends its limited musical scope and ultimately becomes a paean to music lovers of every genre and origin, while still managing to make poignant observations about the radical changes media and music consumption went through the 80s. Highly recommended for pop culture enthusiasts, music lovers and anyone who was a teenager during the 80s.

Rating: (5 out of 5) @ 2010-08-18

« I can give you more than one good reason to read this... »

Despite his repeated vehement claims otherwise, Klosterman walks a very narrow tightrope between abject hipsterdom and populist music allegiance. And as long as he can keep it up, he'll have a steady readership from both camps. Hipsters, pop culture addicts, metal fans, and anyone who appreciates lengthy charts outlining why hardcore metal fans like certain songs that aren't metal in the least will all devour the content of these passages with relish.

Rating: (5 out of 5) @ 2010-06-04

« great writer, bad book »

I could write a book full of factual and analytical errors in this book. For an avowed fan of metal and a paid rock critic, Klosterman knows little more about the subject than the names of the band members. Virtually everything else in this book is incorrect. There are the occasional witty one-liners and a few slightly interesting stories, but the overly lengthy yet superficial analysis--and countless inaccuracies--are too annoying to make any of this worth the trouble.

Rating: (1 out of 5) @ 2010-04-05

« Pretty good »

I'll keep this one short and simple...if you feel the desire to read a Klosterman book...this is the one. I truly enjoyed this book. Although I am a bit older than Chuck I cold relate to his experiences and thoughts. Now, you want some good advice? Stay away from Eating The Dinosaur and Killing Yourself To Live...both are garbage, pure and simple, they're terrible. Dave in Mass

Rating: (4 out of 5) @ 2009-11-09

« Fargo Suck City »

I picked this up expecting a portrait of Klosterman's youth in rural ND and how it, and he, was affected by music--I was sorely disappointed. There is no odyssey, only Klosterman's opinions of the 80's metal scene (some interesting, some annoying, and some flat out dumb). Fine for anyone between the ages of 35-45 who actually obsessed over hair bands as much as he did, but if you were born after 1975 (I was) and aren't interested in a meaningless avalanche of names and dates (I'm not) don't bother reading.

Rating: (1 out of 5) @ 2009-04-15

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